“Think about how you got here, Reed.
What did you do to end up on that side of the table, with enough chains on you
to anchor a cruise liner.” The man across the room eyed Caden a few times, then
tossed a manila folder to him. It hit the tabletop without much force, but the
sound it made seemed deafening in the quiet room.
“Well,
I assume it’s because I stopped a robbery, officer Doyle,” Caden said,
shrugging. The chains on his shoulders and back clinked against one another as he
struggled to lift them. “Or maybe it’s because I didn’t eat my Wheaties? Oh
wait, no. This is some kind of test, isn’t it? Like the ones they do at jobs to
make sure you’re honest. I’ve always been shit at-“
“Enough,
Reed.”
“Jeez,
who pissed in your cereal today?”
“You
apparently. Registration is law, you know that.”
“Oh
that? Yeah, forgive me if I don’t want to be a government stooge.”
“What
the hell do you have against registering? You’re a meta-human, you could
literally be the most popular force for good on the planet if you got your head
out of your ass for fifteen seconds.”
“And
then what? You point me in a direction and expect me to go and melt doors off
their hinges? You know what happens when the government has us all on the
payroll Doyle.”
“I
know where you’re going, Caden. Don’t even-“
“Once
we’re working for the government-“
“Reed,
I swear to god-“
“They
say who’s good and bad-“
“Shut
your-“
“And
good people get caught in the middle, just like Claire.”
“Shut
the fuck up Reed!” Doyle’s hand crashed into the table, leaving a dent that
showed he could’ve easily brained a rhino with his bare hands.
“You
were so proud of her Richard,” Caden said. “You loved her. She was blood after
all. And I loved her too. But she believed in what we did. I’ve been helping
people, without needing someone to tell me who the heroes and who the villains
are. I see something bad, I stop it. Just like she wanted.”
“You’re
breaking the law, Caden. So was she.”
“And
they killed her for it, Richard. They killed Brute Force’s, their own star’s,
only daughter.”
“It
was an accident, there was so much chaos…”
“But
if they had let us do what we set out to do, no one would’ve died.”
Officer
Doyle sighed. His head hung low as he turned away from Caden.
“You’re
like a son to me, Caden, but you know I can’t just let you go. There are four
more officers on their way with the insulated restraints. You won’t be able to
get out of those, even if I did just unlock you.”
“You’re
not Thunderhead. Those don’t mean a damn thing to you. You’re the one and only
Brute Force, the best meta-cop on the planet.”
“I’m
registered. They’ll hunt down my wife, my mom, everyone.”
“Not
if we hide them. I know more than enough people and places that your family can
disappear to.”
“So,
what, you want me to join your vigilante squad? Metas are basically nuclear
warheads with an I.Q. People could still get hurt.” Doyle’s phone buzzed in his
pocket. He pulled it out and glanced at the screen. “It doesn’t matter, they’re
ten minutes away with the transport.”
“Still
time,” Caden said, pushing his chained-up arms across the table. “Better your
finger on the launch button than someone who’s never seen the effects. What’s
your call?”
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